7teen: One for the Gossip, Two for the Friends
by Poppin Pear
Summary: Ep. 6: Sydni starts a mall gossip blog, which becomes an instant sensation, but at what cost? The gang gets embarrassed because of it and it gets bad. When promises are broken, friendships are tested, trust can be lost, and revenge is plotted. Being rewritten.
1. Intro

7teen: One for the Gossip, Two for the Friends

_A/N: I hope you enjoy this story. Just a little disclaimer for ya: I don't own 6teen, nor do I own the songs mentioned or the lyrics. I only "own" my original character(s). _

**Monday – The Big Squeeze – 10:00 a.m.**

Narrator's POV

The original gang of six was hanging out at their usual food court table, with Caitlin sparking a short discussion about her love life. She sighed in content and said, "Benj is so amazing. We had a picnic down by the lake last night. Oh, it was so romantic."

"That sounds so dreamy, Caitlin," Jen awed. "I think he might actually be _The One_," she claimed. "Surprisingly, he might really be _the one_ for you this time. How long have you been going out with him?" Nikki wondered. "We've been dating for one month now."

"Wow, that might actually be your longest relationship," Jonesy chuckled. "I think it is!" Caitlin realized. "Congratulations," Nikki rolled her eyes. "Oh my gosh, Benj and I need to do something special for our monthiversary!" Caitlin ignored Nikki's side comment.

While Caitlin was thinking of what to do with Benj, Sydni came to the table with a red messenger bag draped across her shoulder. "Guys, I have something really cool news!" she was ecstatic.

"What is it?" Wyatt asked. "Yeah, tell us!" Caitlin got eager, loving good news. "I think it'd be better to _show_ you," Sydni emphasized. The gang looked at each other, wondering what she could possibly mean.

She put her bag on the table, pulled her laptop out of it, and opened it up. Pulling up a website, Sydni turned her laptop so the screen would face the gang. It was a blog that was called _Mall Talk._

"I made a blog!" she exclaimed in glee. "It's based on this mall and things happening around here."

They scrolled through it, but the only things on there so far were rather uninteresting posts about stores around the mall. "So what do you guys think of it?" Sydni was eager to hear their reactions.

"No offence but–" Jen started, but was cut off by Nikki who bluntly said, "It's boring and not worth reading."

Sydni sighed deeply, so Caitlin tried to be nice and said, "Nikki just means that it's not _that_ interesting. You should write more gossip articles." "Really?" Sydni asked.

"You totally should. Sometimes gossip can be really interesting to read," Jen added in. "Throw in a couple embarrassing articles about The Clones and I'll follow your blog," Nikki laughed and snorted.

Sydni thought to herself, _"Hmm… 'More gossip articles,' they say. I wonder where to start."_

_(Insert Theme Music Here)_


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Inspiration Can Hit at Anytime

**Mall Fountain – Noon**

Narrator's POV

While on her break, Sydni decided to find inspiration for her blog at the fountain. She pulled out her laptop, opened up a blank notepad document, and tried to type ideas while sitting there. As she sat there for minutes and nothing came to her, she was prone to frustration.

Sydni started tugging at her hair wondering what would be interesting to write and also get people's attention. Just then, Jude came skating by. "What's happening, bra?" he greeted.

"Hey, Jude. I'm trying to come up with an article to write for my blog," she hung her head, "It's not going so well." "You look kind of stressed," Jude observed, "Wanna take a break and hang with me?"

"Sure, why not?" Sydni shrugged and followed him.

**The Escalators – 12:07 p.m.**

Jude took Sydni with him to the escalators where he was going to pull off a sick stunt on his skateboard that he nicknamed _Sally_. Sydni asked, "So Jude, what are you going to do?" He explained he was going to grind down the escalator, into an Ollie, followed by a 360 degree spin.

"…I've been practicing it for a couple weeks now and I'm finally ready," he was pumped up. "I bet you'll nail it," Sydni encouraged. "Hey, do you think you can record it for me on your phone?" he wondered, "I wanna see if it's as awesome as it'll feel."

She agreed to do it and took her phone out of her pocket. Jude then started to skate fast down the escalator, drawing in a huge crowd, and he was about to do his Ollie until he lost control and crashed.

The whole crowd laughed and Jude even laughed at himself, despite the fact he wanted to pull off that trick. Sydni rushed down the escalator to make sure he was alright. "Oh my goodness! Jude, are you okay?" she asked, trying to hold back her chuckle.

"I'm fine. This happens like all the time," Jude said as he got up and shrugged it off. "At least you were able to get back up on your feet," Sydni elbowed him jokingly. "Did you come up with anything to write about while we were here?" the blonde got curious.

"Nope," she was reminded of her writer's block. "Don't get discouraged, bra. Inspiration can hit at any time," Jude advised. "That was actually pretty insightful. Thanks for the advice," Sydni realized what he said was sort of profound.

"No problem," he told her, "I gotta get back to the game store. Catch ya later!" She waved goodbye as he skated off and thought about his words.

_"Inspiration can hit at any time,"_ echoed through her mind. Sydni then realized she had recorded Jude's failed stunt on her phone, which gave her an idea for her article. She immediately grabbed her laptop, sat down on a bench, and started to quickly type her post.

**Tuesday – Game Store – 10:00 a.m.**

At the store he managed, Jude was zoned out until he saw a group of kids, led by Stanley, pointing and laughing at him. "Did I miss something?" he asked in confusion. "You're the guy who crashed and wiped out on his skateboard!" one of the random kids shouted.

"Haha, loser!" Stanley stuck his tongue out and aimed his ball gun at him. The mischievous kids ran out and Jude exclaimed, "Not cool, little dude!" All he could think was, _"What was that all about?"_

Meanwhile, Sydni was walking through the mall when all of a sudden some random teen girls were gathered around her. "Your blog is so cool!" one of them squealed. "The article you wrote and the video along with it were hilarious!" another one said.

"Wow, thanks!" Sydni was shocked at the feedback she received. One of the dorky teens with braces said in a lisp, "I hope you write more things like that. It's too awesome for words."

_"Hmm… I must be doing something right, so I must find something even better to write about," _Sydni thought to herself.

Walking by the Penalty Box, she spotted Jen applying foundation on top of a large zit. She hid herself at a safe distance to take photos of Jen. "This could make for a great story," Sydni sniggered under her breath as she took photos with her phone.

**Wednesday – The Penalty Box – 11:30 a.m.**

Jen was working at the Penalty Box as usual, until her new boyfriend Nick came up to her. "How's my favorite girl doing?" he asked her in a flirty tone. "I'm doing great," she gushed.

"I see you were able to cover up that zit you had," he mentioned. "Yeah, I did – Wait, how do _you_ know I had a zit yesterday? You weren't here!" Jen got shocked. "I read about it on some website," Nick explained.

"_What?!_ How many people know?" she started acting hysterical knowing people had seen her embarrassing pimple. "I don't know." Nick got a bit freaked out so he said, "I'm going on my break. See ya later, Jen."

Jen felt upset and mad all at the same time. To make matters worse, a nerdy teen with acne asked her what foundation she uses to cover her pimples. Jen shouted to the top of her lungs, which caused Coach Halder to send her to the penalty box.

**The Lemon – 12:20 p.m.**

Nikki, Jonesy, Jude, and Caitlin were all at The Big Squeeze. Caitlin gave Jonesy a lemon squishy on the house. "I take it you just got canned," Nikki laughed at her boyfriend.

He just nodded and sipped his drink, until Jen stormed to the table. "This sucks!" she shouted as the made her way to her seat. "What's up with you?" Nikki asked. "So many people around here kept asking about my _monster zit_ yesterday, which I covered up before anyone else could see it!" Jen slammed her head on the table.

"How'd everybody else find out about it?" asked Jude. "I don't know! I just heard Nick mention it was on some website," Jen responded, with her voice muffled due to her head still being on the table.

"Go ask Sierra if she knows anything; after all, she _does_ have her own blog and she could be the one who posted that," Caitlin suggested. Jen lifted her head off the table and said, "You might be right. I'll go do that. Thanks, Caitlin!"

Jen went on her way to find Sierra, who was probably going to _Things That Beep_, where Cody worked and where she usually stalked him. Lo and behold, she found her there.

Sierra, who was just about to leave after getting her "Cody fix" for the day, was stopped by Jen who wanted to talk to her. "Hey Sierra, I need to ask you something," Jen told. "Sure, what is it, Jen?"

"I need to know: Did you or did you _not_ post that zit article about me? Everyone's talking about it and it's humiliating," she was slightly angered. "I swear I didn't!" Sierra exclaimed, "In fact, my blog hits have been going **down** for a couple days."

"Hmm… if it's not you, then who could it be?" Jen muttered under her breath.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Not Meant to Happen

**Grind Me – 3:00 p.m.**

Narrator's POV

Sydni, who was starting to get sudden blogger fame, was on the prowl for another good scoop. She was passing some shops, and decided to stop to see what people were doing in Grind Me.

She immediately spotted Wyatt in line getting coffee, but was more interested in who was in line behind him. Marlowe, his ex-girlfriend, was behind him and when they realized it, they struck up a conversation together.

Knowing that this would definitely receive a lot of hits, Sydni immediately pulled out her camera and was able to zoom in and get some really interesting shots, since she wasn't able to record their conversation.

She thought, _"People are __**not**__going to be able to believe this – without proof, that is."_

Around five o'clock, people were already gossiping about it, since rumors tend to fly fast around the Galleria Mall. Wyatt, who was going to get some new music at _Spin This_, ran into Serena, who coincidentally was going check out the albums he grabbed.

"Hi, Wyatt," she greeted him. "Hey, Serena. Could you check these CDs out for me?" he asked. "Sure," Serena tried to make conversation, "So, I was going to ask you out, but I found out that you were still with your ex, Marlowe."

"What?!" he was surprised, "Where'd you hear that?" "I read it on a blog earlier, but you sound shocked, so I'm guessing it's not true," her voice sounded more ecstatic, thinking she had another shot at him. "It's not true at all, but I'm sorry Serena. Things didn't work out between us once, and I'm not looking for a relationship right now," Wyatt shot her down.

Some time later, Wyatt showed up at the table with the gang, minus an absent Sydni, who had been caught up in her blog, unbeknownst to the gang for now. "So, I heard a couple chicks say you scored Marlowe again," Jonesy commended him.

"Wyatt!" Caitlin exclaimed, "You're with her again and you didn't tell us?" "That's the thing: I'm _not_ with her!" he shouted, "Someone wrote a rumor about me being with her."

Jen then realized something. "I've gotten some gossip written about me today, which is kind of weird, considering you did too," she started thinking deeply. "I heard stuff about me yesterday," Jude added.

Jen got a sudden thought, "It's **SYDNI!** Remember how the other day she wanted to write more interesting articles? Well she wrote them about **us**. How could I have been so blind?" The rest of the gang realized it as well.

"We've got to talk to her about it," Wyatt said. Nikki explained that she had already left once she finished her shift at the Crappy Barn earlier.

"Well, we'll just have to talk to her when we see her tomorrow," Jen said, and the rest of the group agreed.

**Thursday – The Big Squeeze – 8:55 a.m.**

At The Big Squeeze, the gang sat and waited for Sydni to arrive, because the first thing they planned to do was to talk to her. She eventually showed up and that's when her friends decided to talk to her.

"Hey guys," Sydni greeted. "Sydni, we need to talk to you about something," Wyatt said. "Um, alright," she felt a serious conversation coming on. "Why did you write those things about Wyatt, Jude, and me on your blog?" Jen came out and asked the question they've been wanting answered.

Sydni felt kind of bad and said, "I was in a need for good articles to write. Jude's failed stunt was the type of thing that could gain me followers, which it did. Once I realized that I had fans, I needed something else that was interesting, specifically Jen's pimple. That gave me more followers, which pressured me to publish something equally as scandalous. Once I saw Wyatt with his ex-girlfriend, I definitely seized the opportunity to write a juicier story. But I twisted the whole situation around, and that was wrong."

She started to feel bad and told, "I hope you guys can forgive me. I promise that it won't happen again." They trusted her word and made up with her as a result of it.

**1:03 p.m.**

A little while later at The Lemon, when Caitlin was pouring a lemon squishy, the cup tipped over, spilling lemonade on the front of her skirt. She apologized to the customer and said, "I'll make you another one on the house when I get back. I have to clean myself off first."

She took off her heinous lemon hat, closed the stand, and made a dash for the washrooms to get cleaned up. Sydni, who was near the washrooms, saw Caitlin walking through with a stain on the front of her skirt.

Her mind started to churn out thoughts. _"That would make such a funny story. This just in: Caitlin Cooke couldn't hold it in any longer!"_ She chuckled at the thought, but then realized that she promised the gang that she wouldn't write anymore stories about them.

Sydni couldn't resist taking a photo for consideration. _"I'm sure she'll have a laugh about it eventually,"_ she contemplated, thinking that Caitlin wouldn't mind it.

**Friday – Albatross & Finch – 3:15 p.m.**

Caitlin was doing some shopping at Albatross & Finch during her spare time at the mall. She picked out a cute tank top, some cargo shorts, and a pair of stylish sandals to wear sometime this summer, but when she got to the checkout line, things started to go downhill.

The greeter goddess who was supposed to check out her clothes denied her. "Ha! You're the girl who peed on herself!" she taunted her, "There's no way you can buy this from here."

Caitlin, who was starting to feel confused and upset, blubbered, "W-why?!" "Because we don't want a loser who wet herself to represent this store. It's too good for you," the self-absorbed worker sneered at her.

A couple greeter gods "escorted" her out of A&F, and a hurt Caitlin ran off crying.

When she arrived at her usual table in the food court, the gang was just as confused as she was. "So, let me get this straight: You just wanted to buy some stuff at that stuck-up store, and they rejected you because you peed on yourself?" Nikki put things into perspective.

"That's the thing: I didn't wet myself; it was lemonade! I tried explaining it, but no one believed me!" Caitlin had mascara running down her cheeks from sobbing hard. "I'm sorry, Caitlin. That sounds so wrong," Jen patted her on the back, trying to cheer her up.

Sydni, who had heard about Caitlin, ran up to the table looking a bit upset. "Caitlin, I am so sorry!" she pleaded. "Why are you sorry? It's not your fault," Caitlin managed to say through her soft weeping.

"Actually, it is." She went on to explain how she couldn't resist temptation and posted the photos of Caitlin with the lemonade stain on her website. "I feel extremely bad about it. I broke my promise and I know I messed up!" Sydni went on and on, "I didn't know that would happen. I'm so sorry, Cait."

Caitlin, knowing she hurt her friends in the past too and that she's done devious things as well, forgave her. "It's okay. You didn't know it would cause this," she sniffled. "Thanks for forgiving me. I couldn't stop thinking about it for a second without feeling guilty."

Sydni again vowed not to exploit her friends like that again and was able to go several days without posting anything demeaning, though days later she was faced with another challenge.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Broken Promises Cause Strained Friendships

**Wednesday – The Khaki Barn – 6:00 p.m.**

Narrator's POV

Nikki and Sydni were yet again closing up the Khaki Barn for the Clones, since the two of them had nothing better to do that evening. Sydni had _212_ by _Azealia Banks_ blasting from her iPod, which was on its speaker dock. Nikki, on the other hand, was relaxing in the stall she was usually in.

The sassy rap music blared out of the speakers, and Sydni was bobbing her head to it. When Jonesy, who was walking by the store, heard the music, he knew they were still there, prompting him to step inside.

"Hi, Jonesy," Sydni greeted over the loud song. "Hey, Sydni. Is Nikki around here?" he asked. "Uh huh, she's in one of the stalls, where she usually is," she pointed to the changing stalls.

"Thanks," Jonesy said as he walked over to the stall Nikki was hiding in. He opened the door and found her sitting on a pile of clothes.

"Hey, babe. I thought I might find you in here," he purred at her. She stood up and sarcastically asked, "How ever did you find me?" Jonesy seductively smiled and flirted, "I dunno. I must have good luck."

Nikki closed the stall door and locked it moments later, leaving her and Jonesy in a private spot to hang together. The two managed to have a nice conversation together, but the vibe between them quickly changed from friendly to romantic.

They looked at each other and shared a flirty laugh or two, but when they actually stared deep into one another's eyes, the couple felt something different. "Jonesy, I–" Nikki said, before she was cut off by his kiss.

Before either one of them knew it, they were all over each other. Nikki had her arms draped around his neck, whilst he had one hand rubbing the middle of her back and the other at her butt.

While they were going at it, Sydni's thoughts were erupting. _"I know I made a promise to stop writing about my friends again, but I have nothing else to blog about because nothing's really happening. I might even end up losing followers and supporters over this. Oh goodness, where's a good scoop when you need one?"_

She paced back and forth while in a state of deep thought. When she realized that Jonesy and Nikki were lost in each other, an idea came to her. _"I know I promised again that I wouldn't __**write**__ about them, but that doesn't mean I can't __**record**__ them."_

A devious smile made its way onto her face as she got out her phone. _"Everyone loves a bit of romance in their gossip,"_ she thought as she smirked.

Sydni walked near the changing stall they were in, and aimed the lens to film between a crack in the stall. She pressed the record button, and let the footage do the rest of the job for her.

**Thursday – 11:30 a.m.**

Nikki's POV

I was walking through the mall by myself while on the second break I took. I passed a group of preteens who started to laugh at me when I walked by. "What are you laughing at?" I held up my fist asking them.

"Nothing, loose lips!" one of them sneered at me. I was ready to fight the girl, but decided to keep my cool and just pointed my middle finger at her. It offended her, although I really didn't care at that point.

Once I kept on walking, I heard more girls sneer and make snide comments about me, including Heather. "What're you looking at, Heather?" I barked at her. "Oh wow!" she was acting shocked, "You can actually use your lips for something other than just kissing." I rolled my eyes and just walked by her.

"See you later, highlighter head!" she shouted at me while I walked off. _If someone doesn't do anything about her anytime soon, __**I will.**_

Narrator's POV

Meanwhile, in another part of the mall, people were making comments about Jonesy, but in a more positive way.

Jonesy's POV

For the past fifteen minutes, I've been getting props from guys, winks from chicks, and everything else in between. I don't know what's going on, but I certainly don't mind it.

Three hot girls waved at me and said, "Hey, stud." I winked at them and purred. _I don't know why I'm getting all this attention, but I like it._

Suddenly, Geoff, who had Bridgette holding his arm, told me, "Dude, you totally scored! Nice!"

A group of nerdy losers came up to me and one of them begged, "Jonesy, please teach us how to get girls. You know how to win them over so easily. I'm begging you." I told him, "Sorry, dude. I can't tell you. Every magician has his secrets."

I walked off to find more girls gazing at me and smiled at them, which made them swoon. _This is sweet!_

**The Lemon – 11:52 a.m.**

Narrator's POV

Jonesy made his way to the table with some pep in his step, feeling happy about all the positive remarks about him, which still remains a mystery to him. A couple of girls walked by and winked at him, and he winked in return.

Jen looked at him and asked, "What was that all about?" His reply was, "I have no idea, but I'm freaking loving it!"

Just then, Nikki came to the table, feeling the complete opposite of what Jonesy was feeling. "You look like crap," Caitlin took observation. "Gee, thanks," Nikki glared.

"What's up with you?" Wyatt asked. "I've been called everything from _loose lips,_ to _face sucker,_ to even _tongue twister_," she groaned. "Why?" Jen raised an eyebrow.

"Beats me, but the next person to insult me gets a blow to the gut," Nikki raised her fist in anger.

Julie taunted her as she walked by the table and yelled, "I'm surprised you can keep your lips to yourself, Nikki!" and made kissing noises.

"Oh, that is it!" Nikki got mad and rushed over to the brace-faced girl. "This is gonna get ugly," Jen said. "Very," Caitlin added.

Nikki, fed up right about now, grabbed Julie by her collar and threatened, "Call me something again and I'm going to make you regret it." Scared by her threat, Julie cried out, "Okay, I'm sorry! Just please, let me go."

She rolled her eyes and released her grip. "Spill it. Why are you, and everyone else around here, taunting me?" Nikki raised an eyebrow as she asked.

"Someone posted a video of you and Jonesy together on their gossip blog, but I forgot who, because Darth was the one who showed me the website," Julie revealed. The purple-haired girl snarled, having a feeling of whose website it is.

She made her way back to the table and immediately commanded, "Jude, I need to see your laptop." He handed it to her from out of his backpack and Nikki started typing in a web address.

Her eyes opened wide, and her expression quickly changed from shock to anger. "No way!" she shouted, grabbing the attention of the gang. "What is it, Nikki?" Caitlin asked.

"One of Sydni's most recent blog posts: that's what it is," grunted Nikki. She reluctantly turned the laptop screen to face the gang.

The video of their romantic rendezvous popped up and the gang had different reactions. Jude said, _"Du-u-ude"_ and fist-bumped Jonesy. "What can I say? I'm totally irresistible to Nikki," he was filled with pride, until Nikki hit him on the arm.

"Focus here! Sydni broke her promise and embarrassed us – Well, she embarrassed me, that's for sure," Nikki said, "She needs to be taught a lesson, whether she's our friend or not."

"She did break a promise _again_, but we shouldn't fight her over it," Jen said on Sydni's behalf. "Jen does have a point, Nikki," Wyatt tried to calm her down.

"Oh, really?" Nikki cocked her pierced eyebrow. She went on to explain that Sydni embarrassed Jen with her article about her zit, made Jude a laughing stock, got Caitlin banned from Albatross and Finch, spread a false rumor about Wyatt, and not to mention embarrassed her by uploading an intimate moment with Jonesy.

The rest of the gang got fired up, being reminded of this. Jonesy begged to differ, however. "She didn't post anything about me," he smirked.

All Jen had to do was go to another page on the blog and he ate his words. There it was: several pictures of Jonesy being fired again from his job and an article to go along with it.

What made him mad was the last sentence of the article, which read:

_Jonesy may be able to keep his girlfriend, but it's definitely obvious that he's too incompetent to keep a **job.**_

That didn't sit too well with him, and he grunted, "Okay, she's crossed the line. Let's go after her!"

The six friends, mad about what Sydni did to them, were off to confront her.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Confrontations Aren't Pretty

Narrator's POV

Sydni was walking through the mall atrium, where she spotted a swarm of teens, boys and girls alike. _"I love your blog! It's too funny!" _one shouted. Another one said, _"Please sign my shirt! I __**need**__ your autograph!"_

Sydni received an overwhelming amount of compliments and questions regarding getting her autograph. "You guys want _me_ to give you _my _autograph? Sweet!" she became ecstatic.

She was no longer just "the new girl." In truth, her status changed from being a mall newbie to a social sensation in less than a month! This fact went to her head and she was caught up in her followers.

Meanwhile, the gang, who was looking for her, saw a large crowd of adolescents surrounding someone. "Is a celebrity in town?" Caitlin wondered. Her question was quickly answered when they say no one other than Sydni in the center of the mass.

Jen gasped hard, "It's **Sydni!**" Nikki then proclaimed, "Let's get her!"

Sydni heard Nikki's voice and turned around to see the gang start running after her in anger. "Oh sh–" she almost cussed, before she decided to start running for it.

Sydni didn't care where she ran at all. All she did was try to run until she lost track of the gang. She muttered under her breath, _"Damn, I wish I hadn't sucked at running laps in gym class last year."_

Still, she sprinted and the gang couldn't keep up. They realized they were lagging behind. "We need to move faster," Jen said in between her heavy breathing from jogging.

Sydni looked and realized that the Khaki Barn was the nearest store she could run into. Desperate to get the six off her trail, she ran into the store with as much power as she could.

Speeding by some customers along the way, she made her way into the stock room. _"They'll probably come in here in a few minutes, so I better find a hiding place quickly!"_ she thought.

Her eyes moved around constantly, trying to eyeball a good spot to hide. She spotted a shelf with some random clothes that were never stocked on it. Sydni then heard footsteps and voices in the distance. Quickly climbing a couple lower shelves to reach the one she was aiming for, she managed to conceal herself on the sill, which surprisingly was sturdy enough to support her.

The door opened and Caitlin was the first to enter. "Are you sure you saw her run into the store, Jonesy?" were the words that escaped the blonde's mouth. "I'm definitely sure," he nodded.

Sydni, peeking down from the pile of clothes on the shelf she was lying on, tried to remain as quiet as possible so she wouldn't give herself away. _"Okay, the door's wide open. Maybe when they're all faced another way, I can jump off the shelf and make a break for it,"_ she was caught up in a moment of deep thought.

"Ugh, where could she possibly be?" grunted Nikki, who was eager to get payback, something she was good at doing. Jonesy looked up at some shelves and didn't see her at all.

"Maybe we should just give up and wait for her to come to us," Jen gave up. "Let's just search here a bit more. She might actually turn up," Wyatt shrugged.

Peeking yet again, Sydni noticed they all faced in an opposite direction, giving her a chance to make her move. She came out from under the pile of clothes that kept her hidden and agilely jumped off the ledge of the shelf.

The gang heard her feet as they hit the ground and turned around to see her running out of the back room. "There she is!" shouted Jude.

Before they could catch up, she had already dashed off, nowhere to be found by them.

**The Lemon – 12:35 p.m.**

They reassembled at their usual table in front of The Big Squeeze. "Okay," Nikki started, "The next time we see her, we need to pounce on her, no holding back whatsoever." Her fist hit the table as she said the word _pounce._

"What are we gonna say when we see her?" Jen wondered, "We can't exactly say, _'Stop writing negative stuff about us,' _because we did that once and it obviously didn't work." Nikki suddenly got a mischievous look on her face.

"I know exactly how to get the point across," she impishly smirked. She went on to explain her plan to the gang.

Meanwhile, Sydni, who was short of breath after running, was thinking of good places to hide. She spotted the air vent opening and got a bright idea. _"They wouldn't think to find me in the air vents, now would they?"_

She climbed inside and started crawling around, with no specific places to crawl to in mind. She was just seeing where the air vents would take her. As she inched around, she actually enjoyed her stay in there.

"Hmm, staying up here isn't so bad," Sydni said to herself. She crawled ahead and saw a tiny spider. She smashed it with her fist and rolled her eyes. "Psht, spiders are no match for me," she smirked.

As soon as Sydni said that, however, a large black spider started crawling towards her. She covered her mouth and let out a muffled scream once she saw it. Slowly backing up, the girl didn't see what she was backing into. Her foot hit one of the vent covers and it fell to the ground below.

The gang, still hanging and waiting at The Lemon, heard a clink noise from the falling metal. Caitlin, who was inside of the giant fruit, looked over and saw the metal cover for the vent on the ground. "Hmm, that was weird," Caitlin said.

Sydni then fell from the vents to in front of The Big Squeeze. "Ouch!" she exclaimed, "I think I just bruised my ass." She then saw six figures surrounding her, waiting for her.

Chuckling nervously, Sydni said, "Uh, hi guys." She smiled weakly to match her uneasy mood.

Soon enough, the gang ended up dragging her towards the fountain, with Nikki and Jen restraining her wrists. Jonesy and Jude tried to get a grip on her ankles too, but she was kicking way too hard for them to grab onto her.

Sydni was trying to snatch her wrists free, but to no avail. She shouted, "Ugh! Let me go!" She repetitively tried to shake their grip on her as they neared the fountain area. Grunting once more, she was able to shake hard enough to make them lose their grasp on her arms.

They were inches away from the mall fountain itself. Sydni put her arms up near her head and pleaded, "I'm sorry okay! I didn't mean to post that stuff about you guys. Just please don't push me in!"

Nikki cocked her pierced eyebrow and said, "What makes you think we're just going to let you off the hook?" Jen concurred with what she said. "I agree. You may be our friend, but you embarrassed us _and_ betrayed us." Caitlin added on to that, "Which means we have every right to humiliate you!"

Jonesy signaled his girlfriend, "Nikki, do it now!" She suddenly pushed Sydni into the fountain, after given the signal by Jonesy. A sea of laughter then erupted from the surrounding crowd.

Sydni came up from under the water to find a throng of people making fun of her misery. It took a moment for it all to sink in. Her eyes shifted in different directions franticly. The feeling of the mass laughing and taunting her made her chest tighten.

She quickly got out of the fountain, drenched and humiliated, and now crying heavily. Sydni took a look at the gang through her blurry, tear-filled eyes and ran off, heading straight for the exit.

Once she disappeared, the gang started to feel bad. Nikki, who was one all for getting her revenge, now felt bad for her after seeing her so lost and upset. "Maybe _we_ screwed up this time," she said while looking at the other five.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Apologies Can Rebuild Trust

**Thursday – The Big Squeeze – 1:00 p.m.**

Narrator's POV

It was quieter than usual at the gang's frequent hangout spot. You could honestly cut the tension with a knife. They couldn't stop thinking about Sydni. The six honestly didn't know whether to still be upset with her or to feel sorry for her.

Jude broke the silence first. "Okay, dudes! It's way too quiet!" he shouted, causing him to grab the attention of the food court. "Oops," Jude became quieter. "Maybe we went too far with our little revenge plot on Sydni, because she hasn't showed up all day," Jen bowed her head, feeling sorry.

"She didn't even show up at work today," Nikki had a worried expression on her face, "I didn't even have anyone to slack off with at the Crappy Barn."

After Nikki spoke, things went back to being silent until Starr showed up with Brooke, her Vegan Island co-worker and mutual friend of the group. "Whoa, it's so eerie over here. It's like you guys are dead or something," Starr observed.

Jude was the first again to speak. "We're bummed out because of Sydni not being here." His girlfriend replied, "Oh yeah, I heard about that." Brooke was inquisitive about what happened. "How come you guys tossed her into the fountain?"

Caitlin explained that Sydni had started a blog, which was uninteresting, so they suggested she add more gossip articles; she took their advice, but started writing embarrassing or untrue stories about them. Once she broke her same promise to the gang that she'd stop writing about them twice, they got their revenge on her, but once she ran off crying, the six of them started to regret it.

Brooke then said, "Well, she did have a right to write what she did. After all, _you guys_ were the ones who told her to write more interesting things, which she did." Jen agreed with remorse, "Yeah, you do have a point."

"We should probably visit her to see if she's alright," Wyatt suggested. "We totally should!" Jude agreed, with more enthusiasm in his voice. "First things first: where exactly is her house?" Nikki questioned, since the six of them hadn't exactly been to Sydni's home before.

Jonesy finally said, "Her house is down the street from us, because we live in the same neighborhood." "Oh right!" Jen exclaimed, "We've passed her house on the way to the mall!" Jude stood up and eagerly shouted, "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" The six got up and as they left, Starr and Brooke, who were still at the table, wished them good luck.

**Sydni's Bedroom – 1:20 p.m.**

Sydni was sitting on the lime green comforter of her bed, feeling embarrassed and hurt, but more importantly, she felt bad that she betrayed her friends and let internet fame get to her head. She got up and walked over to her computer to listen to a sad song that matched her somber mood. Clicking on _Lost_ by _Katy Perry_, Sydni turned up the volume on her speakers and then dragged herself back to her bed. She allowed herself to fall back and just stared at the white ceiling, recapping every moment from the previous day in her mind.

The soft guitar and piano intro played and she was lost in the lyrics.

_I'm out on my own again,  
Face down in the porcelain,  
Feeling so high, looking so low,  
Party favors on the floor,  
Group of girls banging on the door,  
So many new fair-weather friends,  
Oh, oh, oh…_

Sydni truly felt bad that she hurt her friends again, but their act of revenge brought back bad memories for her. She was reminded of when she was called rude names in front of her whole class by some stuck-up girls in elementary school. Every student in her grade would laugh at her and mock her, making her feel terrible on the inside. She overcame it, although when laughed at by the crowd around the mall's fountain, her memory of it was jogged.

_Have you ever been so lost?  
Known the way and still so lost…_

Then, the way she hurt her friends crossed her mind. All she wanted to do is create a nice blog, though when the gang told her it wasn't the greatest, she sought to improve it by following their advice exactly – adding more rumors and juicy gossip. She realized the error of her ways when Caitlin was upset, but yet again gave into temptation, which caused her to be humiliated by the gang. Great, it was back to square one – her elementary school memories.

_Caught in the eye of a hurricane,  
Slowly waving goodbye like a pageant parade,  
So sick of this town pulling me down,  
My mother says I should come back home but  
Can't find the way 'cause the way is gone,  
So if I pray, am I just sending words into outer space?_

Her long train of thought was interrupted by the knocking on her bedroom door. She shouted, "Mom, if that's you, then I don't really want to talk right now!" Jen was the first to walk in and said, "Actually, it's us."

Sydni asked, "Who let you guys in?" Wyatt responded, "Your mom did. She's really nice, by the way." Sydni just said, "Oh," and looked like she was going to cry again.

"Look, we're really sorry about what happened–" Nikki started, but was abruptly stopped by Sydni. "No, it's my fault. I was a bad friend who let cheesy blogger fame get to her head and lose sight of who's important to me. I'm truly sorry, you guys, and I solemnly swear I won't do anything like that again to you," she apologized.

"For real this time?" Caitlin giggled. "I pinky swear on it," Sydni held out her finger.

"Are you gonna come back to the mall with us?" asked Jude. A smirk appeared on Sydni's face and she agreed to come back. "…But let me change first. I can't show up in pajamas!" she said, pointing to her sleepwear. She was still wearing her pink tank top and blue pajama shorts, and her brown and copper hair needed to be brushed properly. The group agreed to go downstairs and wait for her to get ready to go back to the Galleria Mall.

Once she got dressed and combed through her waist-length hair, Sydni and the gang went to the mall as a whole group. The girl was still teased here and there for being tossed into the fountain, but she just shrugged it off and went on with her life. Sometimes, you've got to ignore people's insults and move on from it.

**Friday – 12:30 p.m.**

Just like any other day, the gang was at The Big Squeeze. They weren't silent anymore and the six were on good terms with Sydni again, who was typing something quickly on her laptop. "What are you up to?" wondered Jen, just to make sure Sydni didn't break her vow _again._

"I'm writing you guys an apology to publish on my blog," she managed to stop typing for one moment to tell them. "Whoa, really?" Jude asked. Sydni nodded her head. "You really don't have to go through all that trouble for us. I mean, you _did_ apologize to us," Caitlin insisted, but she refused. "I want everybody to know that I messed up and I'm sorry for it. It's the least I could do for you, since you pretty much took me into your group," Sydni smiled wholeheartedly. They couldn't help but smile at her sincerity and thanked her.

The past couple of weeks may have been rocky, but they got through it, and laughed along the way, like all friends do.

_(Ending Credits)_

_**Jonesy… Jude… Wyatt… Caitlin… Nikki… Jen… Sydni…**_

_I'm 7teen! **7TEEN!**_

We still make the good times last!


End file.
